In accordance with the Joint Working Agreement a new Chair will be elected from Devon’s Committee members.

The new Chair will invite nominations for a new Committee Vice-Chair in accordance with the Joint Working Agreement and a new Vice-Chair will be elected from Torbay’s Committee members.

The Committee agreed to appoint Councillor Hodgson as Chair and Councillor Fox as Vice-Chair for the meeting. 

No declarations of interest were made. 

To sign and confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on the 17 October 2024.

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2024 as an accurate record.  

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.  

To receive a presentation from Mike Turner; MVV Managing Director and Jade Beavan; MVV Community Liaison Manager summarising the performance of the contract, facility and MVV’s business performance.

Mike Turner (Managing Director, MVV) provided an update and highlighted: 

a)    Strong performance in year ending March 2025, above design parameters (availability, throughput, diversion, carbon savings); 
 

b)    Excellent Health & Safety record with no RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) incidents and had reached 1,600 days without a lost-time injury; 
 

c)    Higher energy prices and plant performance boosted Third-Party Income (TPI), resulting in a TPI share being issued;  
 

d)    Waste accepted had been impacted by an increase in CV (calorific value) and outages;
 

e)    Targets for waste diversion, availability and CO_2eq savings had all been exceeded; 
 

f)     The only significant breach of performance management factors was 19 breaches of turnaround times which were due to fire alarms issue, tipping hall hold-ups or errors on the weighbridge; 
 

g)    Facility improvements and developments included: 
 

                              i.        Site road marking refresh; 
 

                             ii.        New tipping cabin installed, for increased health, safety and security; 
 

                            iii.        Tipping hall walkways had been redesigned to incorporate a pedestrian route around the perimeter; 
 

                            iv.        A remote induction system for contractors had been implemented; 
 

                             v.        A new visitor blue line had been implemented to increase safety. 
 

Jade Beavan (Community Liaison Manager, MVV) added: 

h)    MVV promoted the waste hierarchy and helped communicate Partner Councils’ waste reduction priorities?; 
 

i)     Coordination and delivery of site tours along with careers-focused Q&A sessions?; 
 

j)     Planned, supported, and represented the?organisation at community events?; 
 

k)    Engaged in waste education forums and collaborative meetings?; 
 

l)     Led partner facility tours and hosted educational visits on waste management; 
 

m)  Increase from 533 hours of third party usage in 2023/24 to 691 hours in 2024/25; 
 

n)    School engagement had increased in Plymouth; 

                              i.        School visits remained a challenge with schools further away from the site due to logistical challenges, but some transport costs were supported for those in Torbay Council area and Devon County Council area;

                             ii.        An outreach offer was also available for schools; 
 

o)    MVV Devonport had partnered with Pollenize to host a research apiary, supporting native dark honeybees and championing local biodiversity; 

                              i.        MVV and?Pollenize?had teamed?up to boost biodiversity, engage communities, and drive a greener future;

                             ii.        MVV inspired future eco-champions by sharing pollinator science, honey extraction, and a taste of nature’s sweet rewards; 

                            iii.        Additional planting to encourage the bees continued as well as raising awareness of the bees within the woods local to the plant; 
 

p)    MVV had joined a city-wide demonstration of support for a local child with cancer, lighting up local landmarks in gold to celebrate the child’s 15^th birthday on 02 December 2024. 

Mike Turner (Managing Director, MVV) then added: 

q)    MVV UK Growth included: 
 

                              i.        Medworth, Wisbech construction would begin in late 2025 and was expected to be operational in 2029; 
 

                             ii.        Canford, Bournemouth facility planning application was rejected in June 2025, but an appeal was being prepared; 
 
 

r)    Developments in Medworth and Canford were both commercially led, with some capacity and contracts expected to be negotiated with local authorities; 

In response to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

To receive an update on the current status of the contract and facility for 2025/26 from the SWDWP Contract Team.

Ashleigh Sherrell (Contract Manager, SWDWP) provided an update and highlighted: 

a)    The turbine had been removed for inspection and maintenance, with turbine contractors causing several additional challenges and delays, requiring MVV to adapt and alter planning repeatedly, and there were 17 weeks without energy generation as a result; 
 

b)    Nine performance failures for minor operational matters surrounding vehicle deliveries and waste acceptance; 
 

c)    A new school booking process had been developed and implemented to streamline bookings and improved health and safety during visits; 
 

d)    A significant number of odour complaints had been reported during an extended outage period in June 2025, most being reported to the Environmental Agency (EA) and being deemed as level 3 minor non-compliance of the permit;

                              i.        Timings of outages were being reviewed;

                             ii.        Increased volume of waste in the bunker, combined with an increase in temperature had caused an increase in odours from the site;

                            iii.        Some odours were not as a result of the site, but instead a local sewage treatment plant;

                            iv.        A consultant in odour control was reviewing the sites processes to aim to improve those processes.

To agree the 15 October 2026 as the date of the next meeting.

The Committee agreed to note 15 October 2026 as the date for the next meeting, to be held at Council House, Plymouth. 

The Committee agreed to pass a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 

Members will receive a presentation from Ashleigh Sherrell; SWDWP Contract Manager summarising the contract’s commercial performance, and any issues faced for contract year 2024/25 and the partnership’s budget forecast and allocations for 2025/25.

Ashleigh Sherrell (Contract Manager, SWDWP) provided an update on the contract’s commercial performance, and any issues faced for contract year 2024/25 and the partnership’s budget forecast and allocations for 2025/26.